h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, synchronicity.

There's an entry on Spider-Man on the front page, I see pictures from the premiere on the BBC news site, and I get an email from a friend about Spider-Man India.

Has anyone else heard of this? Marvel are creating a new Spider-Man for an India audience. The character is called Pavitr Prabhakar rather than good old Peter Parker. The costume appears to be an arab-esqe version of the traditional Spidey-suit.

It's being hailed as a 'transcreation' rather then simply being a translation of the comic's principles.

For some reason 'transcreation' makes me blood run cool. Almost sounds like the 're-imagining' that Tim Robbins did on Planet of the Apes. And we all know how that turned out.

Is this for real? Should I be faintly concerned?


Geggs

Why ever would they do that? I don't think India is that big a market for superhero comics.

I presume that they feel it is untaped teritory and would like to try.

Maybe they're just mad.


Geggs

I just looked it up, it is certainly mentioned in several places. But again I really see no reason why, other than as a fun little experiment. What worried me is they mentioned they might also make a movie of it. Imagine a Bollywood Spiderman movie, with him singing and dancing around, over acting and playing peek-a-boo behind pillars. Horrid.

Strangely "Spiderman India" also seem to be the name of a company who sells nuts and fruits in Delhi.

Well, Marvel like to make money. That's their purpose as a business, so trying new markets seems sensible to me.

And Tim Robbins had nothing to do with the re-imagining of POTA. That would have been Tim Burton, an otherwise fine director who was boxed into a corner by the studio. He should have known better.

Burton! Of course. Thanks for correcting me Blues.

My memory is deeply dodgy today. Same as my ears.


Geggs

The Spider-Man India thing sounds a bit like a hoax/elaborate joke/urban myth/rumour that has grown in the telling. You know the kind of thing I mean, they happen all the time.

They did have some stories about black Captain America's, but that fitted into the whole mythos. There does seem to have been a lack of Indian origin superheroes, maybe they're trying to make up for that.

It's hard to tell whether there are or are not Indian examples of any Western phenomenon, because so little of their stuff makes it over here. It wouldn't enormously surprise me to find that there are comics in India, and some of them do feature superheroes, but these comics have never been tried in markets outside the country.

June 23, 2004

Lord ValkyrieOndyum i do so love me mum.

Well It Is My Dinner Hour Here Not Afar From The Buckingham Fountain.

So I Will Have To Go Hop On The EL And Head Home To Mother's Where The Excitement Ond Tension Is Non Stop We've Got Three Generations There!!!

One 81. One 53. One 32 And That One Is Chatting With You About....

India Deserves As Many Comic Has They Can Transcreate Mate.

Will Spider-Man India Discover Exactly Who Killed Mahatma Ghandi.

All With Men Not Gods Universal Really REALLY Still Want To Know. Ta Loves. See A Domani.

Truly 006,

Lord Valkyrie

So do you think instead of Doctor Octopus he will be fighting Shiva? They have about the same number of arms.

That's very close to heresy, careful now

>So do you think instead of Doctor Octopus he will be fighting Shiva?<

Don't know about that... But, in his first story anyway, he will be fighting an Hindu demon who happens to be the same colour than the Green Goblin... ==> A2817263



loup

And I suppose that every now and then the fight will be stalled to do some singing and dancing?

Hmmmm... I don't think that it would work in a comic book somehow...

Well, having forwarded the official site link to a friend from near Noida and one from Bengal, they both nearly fell off their chairs laughing! According to them the new name, and the outfit (the dhoti) are specific to southern Indian states. They seem to feel the majority would go to see it just to see Spiderman in a dhoti! And laugh!

One wonders if it is meant to be a comedy?

As far as I know, the "trans-creation" is only for the comic book version [A2817263]...

The Gotham Entertainment Group are distributing translated comic books in South Asia... That could explain the southern aspect of the new Spiderman, perhaps?!...

They seem to have done a good job in introducing American comic books superheroes to the readers there... So, who knows...

Yeah, I was trying to have a conversation with some kids down in south east asia, who's only english phrase was "My name is Spiderman". Not easy. But there is a difference between just translating it and recreating it like this.

the cynic in me though thinks that just perhaps there is a large dose of 'lets see what those American loonies think our culture is'.
*shrug* It's all rupees at the end of the day though!